Liberty head football coach Jamey Chadwell held a press conference with the media to discuss the 2025 signing class. For more signing day coverage, check out our Signing Day Live Blog. Here’s everything Chadwell had to say about his signing class:
OPENING STATEMENT
“It’s a great day for our program, anytime you can sign a class in the way that we did today. I thought our coaches did a nice job of spreading out. We got guys from a bunch of different states. There’s obviously a bunch of different needs, guys that we are losing, guys you are trying to replenish at a certain area whether that is a side of the ball or individually. We did a good job of identifying needs and also finding the best fits for us.”
“One of our goals, this was our first year coming off the Fiesta Bowl. The previous class you were recruiting them off a vision. This class they got to see it lived out, they got to see what it was about. We felt we had a chance to get some high level, quality players that want to be a part of what we are building here in our program. There is a lot of excitement around that. Really thankful that we are bringing in mid-year guys, you need as many of those as you can with the way college football is today.”
“A lot of needs. We are still not done. I think you will see us going after some more here, signing day lasts through the 6th, then Junior College signing day goes up through January. Obviously, we are in the portal, as well. We still have some opportunities to bring in some more, but I think this class gives us a great nucleus, a great foundation.”
ON QB ETHAN HOUCK
“Ethan was sort of hidden because he played at a smaller school, they don’t throw the ball a lot. Ethan is like the way I wish I would have looked, he looks like a Greek god. He looks really good. He’s a physical, physical guy. Loves football. Loves the Flames. He was sold, completely sold out for Liberty University. Not a lot of people were on him early, then more and more people found out about him, but he stuck through with us. He’s a guy that can physically do all the things that you love for your quarterback to do, from throwing, from running. A big guy. We are excited about him and his progress and really his ceiling. I think he’s got a lot of untapped potential. He’s got an unbelievable work ethic. I’m excited to see Coach Korn, Coach Dixon work with him and get him in the program. I think he’s got a great future ahead of him. Great character. I think he’s going to be a leader of men, I believe that, that’s what you want from your quarterback position, you need someone that leads. I think that is somebody that our guys will gravitate to.”
ON THE RBs, JAYLON COLEMAN AND MALACHI FANNIN-RENDER
“You are losing two players that played quite a bit between Quinton and Billy. Then, James, a good player, decided to go in the portal. We knew what we were losing going on, that’s why you saw us sign two backs. We will have to supplement that room a little bit from a depth standpoint. We have a good, young nucleus coming back, as well, some guys that have played, some guys that haven’t that we are really excited on. The two that we signed, one from Georgia and one from Louisiana.”
“Jaylon can really go. Jaylon is going to be an A-back in our program. He can really run. Does an outstanding job out of the backfield, somebody that we believe will bring us some home run speed.”
“Mal is a combo of both (A and B back). He is a physical runner, can run through the tackle, but has the speed to take it the distance. He is a special player.”
“Coach Isaac does a nice job with identifying the needs there. We will definitely go after some older guys, maybe one, potentially two, to help fulfill the depth that we need there. I think, with our running back class since we’ve been here, as far as from the freshmen ranks, we’ve been filling that room every year as far as the talent we’ve been bringing in. These two are really, really good.”
ON THE WRs, NASIR NEWKIRK AND BRYCE RANDOLPH
“Coach Washington and Coach Harris did an unbelievable job of identifying Bryce and Nas. Nas is right down the street here in Greensboro. Bryce is from Florida. Two guys that are electric with the football and really can do a lot of dangerous things. Great route runners. They are both big, more physical type guys from that standpoint. Nas is obviously bigger than Bryce, but they are both very talented. Great young men. We are rebuilding that receiver room. Obviously, you have to bring in some older guys and different things because of what you lost, but we’re really trying to build that receiver room with young people. I thought our two guys that we signed last year, our freshmen we signed last year, are going to be good players. We feel really confident about Bryce and Nas coming in. They have a chance, if they pick it up, their physical tools are ready to go. We will see how they do the other pieces of it. I think we are doing a good job of building that receiver room, building it on a foundation to where we’ve got a lot more home grown than having to go out constantly and try to supplement what we don’t have. We like those guys. I think they are going to give us something there really explosive.”
ON THE OL, BRANDON EDOZIE AND GABE SMITH
“Offensive linemen is always a huge need. You are always trying to get guys that can come in. What we targeted this year with Brandon and Gabe is we wanted some bigger guys. Gabe is a guy that can play guard or tackle. We are going to play him at guard. If he walked in here right now he’d look like a mountain. Man, he loves football. He’s tough, fits the profile of what Coach Durkin really wants.”
“Brandon, from here in Virginia, Brandon’s an athletic big dude. He plays basketball, thinks he’s a basketball player, we talked him into being a football player. He’s athletic. Comes from an unbelievable family. He’s hungry to get better. I think he’s got a high, high ceiling. What you are trying to do, you are trying to build your foundation from the high school class up. We signed some guys last year, we signed some more. You keep building that. Hopefully you don’t have to continually bring in older people, you start building it from within. I like those two guys there.”
ON THE DL ADDITIONS, GABE SMITH, JEFF HAIRSTON, GAVIN ASKEW, SAM COHEN, AND KAM CULLINS
“Coach Magee does a fantastic job, Coach Krantz also coaches our Jokers, one of these men is a Joker. Jeff Hairston, right here from Rocky Mount. He’s a Joker for us, which is rush end. Got a big future ahead of him, plays the game the right way.”
“Sam Cohen from in-state, from Richmond. He’s a D-Lineman who had some opportunities to go some different places. He wanted to be close to home, close to mom, loved it here. Sam texts me every week about something. Love it. He’s awesome. He’s going to be a really good player. He’s going to be a great leader. He cares about football. He checks with us every week – ‘how’s the team doing?’ He’s one of those guys. Excited about him.”
“Gavin comes from a really good program in Georgia. Somebody we identified for a longtime and recruited for a long time. He will be a three-technique. He will be a big boy. Very explosive. Really is a technique guy already. Excited about him.”
“Kam Cullins is someone we got on late. We recruited for a while. He was committed somewhere else. The other place decided they wanted to go after a portal guy and he was out there. It was someone we had built a relationship with. He visited us for the Western Kentucky game. We’ve been on him for a while. He was with somebody else and when a door opened back up, the relationship that Coach Magee had built with him was something he remembered, and we got a chance there. We believe he’s going to be a high-level player because he’s got great tools. In high school, the way that he is able to play with his hands is something you can’t teach.”
ON THE DBs, MYKE GUNN, URIAH POINTS, DAVION DEAN
“Corner is obviously a big need. You will probably see us going after some more older guys because that’s a need for us. Coach Waites identified Myke and Uriah early on. Those were guys that visited in the summer. They are both extremely talented. At corner, you’ve got to have confident guys. They are both confident guys. One is really long, Myke is a big ol’ long corner. Uriah is quick. They come from very well-known high school programs, one in Alabama, one in Georgia, very well-known high school programs. They compete for state championships. They play at a high level, they compete at a high level, they compete against high level talent consistently. They are very confident. Corners you need confidence. You need some humbleness, but you need some confidence. They are going to come with a lot of confidence, you like that. They are athletic. We’ve got to continue to build that room up.”
“Davion is from Florida. Davion actually got hurt his senior year. High-level player. Played throughout his junior year, got hurt week 3 of his senior year, so he missed the majority of his senior year. Somebody that if he didn’t get hurt was all-state, high-level recruit, a lot of talent. He’s got to come off his injury, but he’s somebody we believe, when he comes back healthy from injury, he can give us a difference maker back there in the secondary. His video shows that. He’s a good young man, he cares about football, excited about being at Liberty. Somebody, once he overcomes that injury, he’s had some adversity he has faced and he has always overcame it. He’s the right fit for us.”
You can watch Chadwell’s full press conference, where he goes into more detail on coaching rumors, the transfer portal, recruiting, and more here:
